Apparatus for mixing and filling beverages



Sept. 24,1946. STEWART I 2,408,107

" APPARATUS FORMIXING AND FILLING BEVERAGES Filed Feb. 14, 1940 3Sheets-Sheet 1 v Sept. 24, -l946.' R. J. STEWART 4 3 APPARATUS FORMIXING AND FIELLINGBEVERAGES Filed Feb. 14,' 1940 31Sheets-Sheet' 2 W=WWch62,

Sept. 24, 1946. T W 7 2,408,107

APPARATUS FOR MIXING AND FILLING BEVERAGES Filed Feb. 141 1940 s sheet-sways- Patented Sept. 24, 1946 APPARATUS FOR MIXING AND FILLINGBEVERAGES Robert J. Stewart, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Crown Cork &Seal Company, Inc., Baltimore, Md., a corporation of New YorkApplication February 14, 1940, Serial No. 318,964

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to apparatus for mixing and fillingbeverages.

In the production of beveragessuch as soft drinks, consisting ofcarbonated water and syrup, it has been .usual to separately flow syrupand carbonated water into a bottle or other container and then bodilymove the container in some manner, either by hand or by machine, to.cause the two liquidsto be properly mixed. Such subsequent bodilymovement of the container has been nec'essary'to obtain mixing becauseof the factthatthe body of heavier syrup tends to re main at the bottomof the bottle.

In order to avoid the necessity of the mixing step discussed above, aswell as the labor and provision of a method and apparatus of the typereferred to above which is readily adapted to handle various mixtureswithout the necessity of flushing a large number of the elements of theapparatus. I

A further object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus andmethod for mixing apparatus required thereby, various methods ofmixing'the two liquids prior to the flowing of the same into a bottlehave been proposed.

. It has been iound'that by mixing the syrup and water prior to flowinginto a container, the

'Byone such process, syrup and plain water have been mixed and thencarbonated together. Such an arrangement causes the syrup to come intocontact with the interior of the carbonator as well as' a substantialextent of the piping included in the mixing apparatus. Bottling concernsordinarily handle several soft drinks, each including a different syrup.Obviously, it is desirable to keep the amount of surface or piping withwhich the syrup comes in'contact at a minimum, since all such surfacemust be washed or flushed before the apparatus can be used to handle adifferent soft drink. T 4

Another objection to prior methods for mixmg carbonated beverages isthat they have too tion' is to provide a method and apparatus where-.

by liquids may be mixed and filled without undue agitation thereof.

f Another object of the invention is to provide 'a method and apparatusfor mixing liquids which are so designed that the proper ratios of theliquids comprising the mixture will be accurately maintained f c I,Still another object of the invention is the liquids under varyingpressures while maintaining the proper proportion of each liquid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and drawings, wherein:

Figure lis a diagrammatic view of the apparatus of the presentinvention.

Figure 2 is a view diagrammatically showing the wiring system used inthe apparatus of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detail section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view through a mixingdevice included inthe present invention.

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view through a settling tank includedin the invention.

Figure 7 is a top view of a gas trap included in the present invention.

Figure 8 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the gas trap ofFigure 7, and

Figure 9 is a side elevation of a second form of gas trap.

- Referring to Figure 1, the numeral lfl designates a carbonator forcarbonating water delivered thereto through the line H from a pump l2operated by a motor I3. The carbonator I0 is of any well-known formincluding a liquid level control' for the motor I3, and the watercarbonated thereby will flow from the same through the pipe M to agastrap 1-5, hereinafter described in detail, and thence to a water pumpl6.

Water pump I 6 is driven by a shaft 1 driven through a belt l8 by avariable speed transmission device l9, hereinafter fully described,

The speed transmission device I9 is driven through a belt 20 from theshaft 2| of gear reduction unit 22 which is in turn driven through abelt 23 by a motor 24. v

" The driven shaft 2l of the gear reduction unit 22 extends to a pump 26to which the syrup supply line 21. is connected through a gas trap 28.

Water flows from the water pump l6 through a line 30 to a water meter 3!and syrup flows from'the syrup pump 26 through a line 32 to a syrupmeter 33. The two meters 3| and 33 may be of any well-'known type,forexaniple of the 3 construction disclosed in Hosmer Blum Patents Nos.1,423,597, issued July 25, 1922, and. 1,977,424, issued October 16,1934. However, each meter should be of such type that it will accuratelymeasure a liquid, regardless of changes in the delivery pressure of theliquid.

The shafts 314 and of meters 3| and 33 which are driven by the meterstoregister or indicate the flow of liquid therethrough are extended fromthe respective meters and, as shown in detail in Figure 3, the shaft 34of one of the meters, in the present instance, the water meter 3|,carries a slip clutch 36 through which it is connected to a splinedshaft 3-1. The shaftffli of the other meter carries a slipclutch=38-through which it drives a threaded shaft 38 whichextendsco-axially with the shaft 31, the adjacent endsof shafts 37 and39 being substantially in abutting relation. A collar or traveling nutbridges the two abutting shafts,.the end portion of nut 41!; whichengages splined; shaft. 3.! being keyed and. the other. end portion ofthe nut being t'hr-ead'ed to engageshaft 39..

Collar. 49'. isengagedby ayoke lit carriedby a. lever 42 extending tothe speed changezdevice l9 and pivoted intermediate. its ends asindicated art-d3; At itsefar end the lever 42 engages. the operatinghandle 4% of the speed: change. device. By this arrangement, if o-neofshafts 37s. and 35 is driven by. itsmeter to rotate at. atdiiferentSpeed from the other the traveling-unit: 4 5L will move in a directionfurther along the faster rotating. shaft, thereby shifting. lever 4-2with a resulting actuationof the operatinghandle 4 f speed-change device19 During such movement the clutches-St and 38 will notsl-ip, but onl-upon extreme movement of the nut as hereinafterde-- scribed.

The speed change device l9 may be of any well known type whereby gradualchanges of speedcan: be obtained. However, in'thepresent embodiment itis of. a type including a driving and a driven pulley connected byabelt;one pul- Icy comprisingfacing convex: discs urgedi togetherontheir'common shaft by a-coi1 spring. Whenthedistance of either pulleyaxisfromr the other is varied, the belt connecting the two-pul-- leyswill be caused to engage a different diameter of the tapered faces-ofthe multidisc pulley'with tharesultwthat a change in speed of the drivenpulley will be obtained.

l Itwillbeobvious from the above that the speed change device" IE will.thus control. the speed of operation of. the water. pump E6 $0 as-toholdthe supply of'water flowing fromthe water-meter 3511 at the properproportion? with respect to the supply: of: syrup leaving thexsyrupmeter33-; In: mostisoft drinks; oneipart ofsyrup. is mixed with five:partsofrwater, but the arrangement provided hereinimayxbe varied:tomaintaimwhatever ratio is desired.

- The outletiiof' the; water meter 3| is connected by a pipeslfizt0therinlet of. the mixing device Q7: and the outlet ofv thesyrupmeter 33 is connected by a line 43: to. a second. inlet 49. of't'h'e;mixingidevice.

Referring to Figure 4, which. illustrates the mixingdevice 47in detail,it will be. noted that thewater: inlet Minis. of relativelylarge'diameter and; as best shown in Figure 5, is arrangedeccentrically-with respect. to a vertical tube. portion 5trof theinlet,with the result that the water willhavea swirling motion: as it movesdown through tube portion 50. Thesyrup line 48, of smaller bore than;water: line; 45 is, connected to a tube 5| of small bore which extendsdownwardly through the center of tube 50. Thus the water and the syrupwill enter the mixing device 47 from the same direction and in generallyconcentric streams. The fitting or tube 50 is formed in the top wall 53of a cylindrical chamber 54, the body of' which is preferably'of glass.A rotating cylindrical e1ement'55 of substantially less length than thechamber 54 is fixed upon a shaft 55--extending down through the lowerwall of the chamber. Element '55 is of such diameter that a relativelysmall space will be left between its periphery and the inner surface ofchamber 54 andtheouter surfaces of the cylinder are smooth 3 was tomin'imiza agitation. Exteriorly of the chamber'E' r shaft56 is providedwith a pulle 5'! driven through a belt'58 by a motor 59.

The lower wall 60 of chamber 54 includes an extension 6! surrounding theshaft 56 and through which the mixed liquid will flow to a line 62.extendingtoa settling tank 6-3.

The rotary element;55.:within the. mixing device cylinder 54 is rotatedat a. relatively-high. speed in order. that the incoming syrupandwaterwill be. thoroughly mixed. However;. since. the. element 551sperfectly. smooth, its rotation will not; cause. releasezofigas in thecarbonated water be.- ingmixed. That is, the, syrup andwaterentering:the chamber 54 in a generally concentric; stream. will. move down; upon.the. upper. surface of the drum 55 rotating in; the. same: direction. asthe liquids. are. swirling. However sincethe' drum 55 is rotatingatamorerapidspeeditiwill cause. the relatively thin body of liquid:between its upper surface. and; the undersurface. of the top wal1..53 ofthechamber'to swirlwithafaster motionso that the two;liq.uids2'will. befurtherintermingled. Then,.. when the. liquids. move; down betweenthearelatively narrow space between the side surface of the rotating.drum 55: andthe inner. wallof the chamber: 58,. they will. be completelymixed due. to'ithei opposing. frictional action exertediby. thestationary chamber wall. and that of the rotating drum,

It is desirable: to provide a. check valve. in the syrup inlet tube-5|.so that shouldthe sup-' ply of syrup fail for'anyreason, water will not.enter the. syrup line. 481 Check1valve64- is so. mountedland controlledthatit will notinterfere 50 with. the. flow. of syrup. under pressurepast the:

same.

The. settling; chamber: 63;. is. illustrated in' detail. in Figure 6'and is. of. cylindricallform, the. syrup and water line 62 opening. to.the. lower 55 wall 61: of. the: device; to a pipefiilz whichextends.

a substantial. distance" up into the. chamber;. A-

float 69 is pivotedin; the chamberJE3 in such .po-:

sition that. the level of theliquid within the settling: chamber willnormally be above the inlet 69 extension 68 but will also be asubstantial dis.-

tance below the upper end of the: cylinder.

' Chamber 63*is provided with. anzoutlet 19 in its; lower. wall. from:which. a line H extends to the-reservoir. 12. of: the. filling'ma'chin'eT3. The:

65 float 69 is connected exteriorly of the settling chamber. 63: withiiaswitch, preferably a mercury typeswitch, Withina? casing 15,thepurposeof switch15 being to control the'main driving motor 24 so thatshould the level of the liquid in chamm berr63 rise to an extremeextent, the motor 24 will;.be stopped. The float. rodis' also connectedwithin casing 15 to. a valve mechanism, not shown, connected to apressurei fluid line-l6 to control flow through lines 16a and 76b to a.pres-- 75. sure cylinder. 11 adjacent motor Z'kas-shown in The operationof the valve mechanism in casing 'I5'is such that if the level of theliquid in chamber 63 drops, the valve mechanism will be actuated tocause pressure flow through line'16a so that this pressure will act uponone side of the piston in cylinder I! to draw motor-24 closer to thecylinder TI and also closer .to the gear reduction unit 22. Motor pulley24a includes two tapered discs as described above in connection with thespeed-change device I9 and a decrease in the distance between motor 24and the gear reduction unit 22 will therefore cause unit 22-'to bedriven at a higher speed so as to increase the speed of the pumps I6 and26 to supply more liquid to settling chamber 63. V

'If the float 69 in the settling chamber is raised slightly by theliquid level, the valve mechanism controlled thereby will cause pressureto 'act through line 16b upon the opposite side of the piston in clinderI1, thereby moving piston rod 18 to slide the motor 24 away from unit 22so that the speed ofthe pumps I6 and 26 will beidecreased. As statedabove, if the float 69 rises too far; the circuit to the motor 24 willbe closed untilthe float again drops somewhat.

The provision of the settling chamber 63 enables the liquid to move tothe reservoir 12 of the lower chamber 85 to such an extent that thelevel of the liquid'normally inupper chamber '86 dr'ops,'fioat 89 willdrop to'open the'valve 92 so as to permit the'escape of 'gas throughport 93. Should the float 89 drop to a markedextent, a switch in acasing '95 adjacent the upper'chamber 86 will be'operate'd Iby rod '9Ito an opened position to open the circuit to the motor 24, therebystopping the entire apparatus.

'Thegas trap' I5 provided upon the water pump I6 is illustrated inFigure 9 and includes a lower chamber 85a and an upper chamber 86a.Carbonated water enters the lower chamber 85a from line H through aninlet port 96 which is offset with respect to the axis of the lowerchamberso that the incoming water will be given a swirling motion. Inorder that the swirlingmotion will Ibe continued throughout the movementof the water through the chamber, the outlet line 91 which conducts thecarbonated water to the;

water pump I6 isalso offset with respect to the axis of chamber 85. Thegas trap I5 is otherwise identical to the syrup gas trap 28.

Figure 2 diagrammatically illustrates the man.- ner in which the variouselements of the apparatus are electrically connected so that the motorLiwhich operates the water pump I6 and syrup pump 26 will be stopped inthe event that the apthe filling machine in a quieter condition thanwould be the case if the reservoir received the liquid direct from themixing device 46.

- In order thatthe fluid in filling machine reservoir 12, settling tank63 and carbonator II) will be under the same pressure,'the top portionsof these three elements are connected by pressure equalizing lines asindicated in Figure 1. This willv prevent a pressure lock at any pointin the system.

Settling chamber 63 is of such capacity that liquid will be held in thesame for approximately ten minutes. That is, in normal operation, thechamber will be filled, and the pumps I6 and 26 will then stop until thelevel in'chamber 63 falls. During this settling period any fine bubblein the mixture willeither rise out of the mixture or will go intosolution. This action will be aided by reason of the fact that thepressure in chamber 63 is the same asin the carbonator ID, by reason ofthe connecting lines 80. Also, the settling chamber is insulated tomaintain the mixture at the proper cool temperature. It is desirable toprovide such insulation at other parts of the apparatus as is necessaryto maintain the liqulds at proper temperature throughout travel throughthe various elements of the system.

The gas trap 28 illustrated in Figure 1 as associated with the syruppump26 is shown in detail in Figures 7 and 8 and comprisesa lower chamberand an upper chamber 86. The syrup inlet line 2''! enters the upperportion of the chamber 85 at a point offset with respect to the axis ofthe chamber so that the syrup will have a, swirling motion as it movesdownwardly through thatchamber to the line 81 which extends to the inletof pump 26; The swirling motion of the liquid will allow any entrainedgases to collect at the center and rise through-the short tube 88extending from the central portion of the top of chamber 85 to the upperchamber 66., Chamber 86 has a float 89 therein including an arm 90 fixedto a rod 91 journaled in the chamber. Arm. 96 carries a valve 92normally adapted tov close an. escape port 93.. If gas or. air entersvparatus is producing too great a quantity of mixed beverage, or if thesupply of water or syrup fails. Referring to Figure 2, it will be notedthat a main I291 is connected to one connection of the motor 24 whileanother main I2I is connected to the float operated control switchwithin the casing 15 of the settling chamber 63. Fromthis latter switcha series lead I22 extends to the'float control switch associated'withthe gas trap l5 of the water pump and a series lead I23 extends fromthis switch to the switch associated with the gas-trap 28 of the syruppump. A lead I 240011- nects the last-mentioned switch with a normallyclosed trip switch I25 arranged at one side of I the meters 3I and 33either drops or increases to a marked extent, the motor 24 will bestopped byreason of the fact that the lever 42 will actuate one of thetwo trip switches to opened position. The slip clutches 36 and 36illustrated in Figure- 3 insure that the shafts 31 and 39 which carrythe traveling nut 40 will slip with respect to the meter shafts 34 and35 when the lever 42 contacts with a trip switch and further swingingmovement of the lever is prevented. This arrangement will prevent damageto the meters.

I and speed-change arrangements included in the present apparatus willinsure that so long as the apparatus is operating, a mixture of theproper proportions of the constituent liquids will be pro-' duced andthat if conditions become such that the apparatus cannot produce theproper mixture, operation will immediately terminate. This is, ofcourse, highly important in the production of soft drinks because thefailure to maintain the exactly proper ratios will not be apparent froma mere viewing of the bottled product and it is not practicable to testthe mixture from time to time. Therefore, unless a mixing apparatus isfully controlled as described above, a large number of bottles might (befilled with a mixture of improperly proportioned constituent liquids,involving a substantial waste in both ingredients and labor.

' The operation of the apparatus and method isv as follows:

The water flowed to the carbonator I is preferably filtered andde-aerated in accordance with the usual practice and is cooled to atemperature just above freezing. The syrup flowed to the apparatusthroughout line 21 is also cooled to the proper temperature to cause itto properly mix and so that it will not raise the water temperature toomarkedly. After carbonation the water flows to the gas trap 15 and isthen forced by the pump IE to the meter 3 l The incoming syrup movesthrough the gas trap 28 and is then delivered by the pump 26 to thesyrup meter 33. The meters 3| and 33 will deliver the proper proportionsof syrup and Water, usually at the rate of one ounce of syrup to fiveounces of water, to the mixing device 41 where the two ingredients willbe thoroughly mixed without agitation and will then flow through theline 62 to the settling chamber 63 from which the mixture will movethrough line 'H to the usual reservoir 12 of the filling chamber. 7

Since the entire system will be kept at the water carbonating pressure,the mixture in the settling tank and in the filling machine reservoirwill be under an excessive gas pressure so as to increase its stabilityand permit filling at a greater range of temperatures. This renders thesystem applicable to numerous types of filling machines.

The provision of the settling chamber 63 at a point in advance of thefilling machine reservoir 12 will permit the fine bubbles which maypossibly be formed in the metering and mixing operations to pass eitherinto solution or out of the liquid, insuring that the liquid cansubsequently be quietly flowed into the bottles by the filling machine.

The inclusion in the system of a positively acting mixing device willinsure that the syrup will be uniformly dispersed throughout thecarbonated Water. However, it will be noted, as stated in detail above,that the mixing device 41' disclosed herein is of such type that themixture will not be unduly agitated. The method included in the presentinvention of controlling the mixture by changing relative pump speedalso contributes to smoother operation and decreases churning andagitation of the liquids moving through the system.

Althoughv the present method and apparatus have been generally describedas adapted to handle the mixing of carbonated water and syrup, it willbe appreciated that the invention is applicable to the mixing ofnumerous other liquids, particularly those which must be mixed underpressure or which contain gas in solution.

The terminology used in the specification is for the purpose ofdescription and not of limitation, the scope of the invention being setforth in the claims.:

8 Iclaimt' l. A device formixing liquids comprising a chamber providedwith a cylindrical bore including an uninterrupted cylindrical surface,inlets for liquid adjacent one end of the chambergan outlet for liquidadjacent the opposite end of the chamber, a cylinder including a smoothperipheryrotatable in the chamber, means to rotate the cylinder, thecylinder being of less'length than the chamber and positioned closelyadjacent the inlet end thereof and being oi such diameter with respectto the inner diameter of the chamber as to provide an area of limitedradius between the cylinder and chamber walls in which liquids may beswirled together to mix, the radius of the area being so limited as topreclude foaming.

2. A device for mixing liquids comprising a cylindrical chamber, acylinder rotatable in the chamber and spaced from each end thereof,means to rotate the cylinder, and inlets for the liquids to be mixed atone end of the chamber, at least one of the inlets being arranged todeliver liquid to the chamber at a point ofiset with respect to the axisof the rotatable cylinder.

3. A device for mixing liquids comprising a cylindrical chamber, acylinder rotatable in the chamber and spaced from each end thereof, thecylinder being provided with a smooth periphery, means to rotate thecylinder, and inlets for liquids at one end of the chamber, at least oneof the inlets being arranged to deliver liquid to the chamber at a pointoffset with respect to the axis of the rotatable cylinder.

4. In an apparatus for mixing liquids, a plurality of sources of liquidsto be mixed, a liquid mixing means, a plurality of liquid flow lines,each flow line extending between one of said sources and said liquidmixing means, means in each line to move a liquid therethrough, ameasuring means in each line, and means controlled by said measuringmeans to hold all of said liquid moving means at such relative speeds asto maintain a predetermined ratio of flow from said measuring means.

' 5. In an apparatus for mixing liquids, a plurality of sources ofliquids to be mixed, a liquid mixing means, a plurality of liquid flowlines, each flow line extending between one of said sources and saidliquid mixing means, means in each line to move a liquid therethrough, ameasuring means in each line, means controlled by said measuring meansto hold all of said liquid moving means at such relative speeds as tomaintain a predetermined ratio of flow from said measuring means, asettling tank to receive the mixed liquid from said mixing means, andmeans associated with said settling tank to control the operation ofsaid liquid moving means.

6. In a liquid mixing apparatus, a casing provided with a verticallyextending cylindrical bore of uniform diameter, an inlet tube for oneliquid arranged concentric with the axis of the casing bore and openingto the upper end of the casing bore, a second inlet tube for a secondliquid surrounding and arranged concentrically with respect to thefirst-mentioned tube, means to flow liquid tangentially into said secondtube whereby the second liquid will move into and downwardly in saidsecond tube and thence into the casing bore with a swirling motion, arotary drum mounted concentrically in the bore of said casing, said drumbeing of such diameter that only a small space will be provided betweenthe drum periphery and the casing bore, the upper end of said drum beingpositioned adjacent said concentric inlets so that the incoming liquidswill move down upon the top of the drum, and means to rotate said drumwith a movement faster than the swirling motion of the liquid enteringthrough said second tube so that the liquids will be thoroughlyintermingled during movement downwardly between said drum and casingbore.

'7 A liquid mixing apparatus of the character described in claim 6wherein the rotary drum is of substantially less length than the casingbore and has its lower endspaceda substantial distance from the lowerend of the casing bore.

8. In an apparatus for mixing liquids, a plurality of sour es of liquidsto be mixed, a liquid ROBERT J. STEWART.

